Hybrids Dominate the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans

Photo: David Vincent/AP

The 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans happened in France this past weekend, and with it came the introduction of new technology, a new top-tier competitor and one radical concept that’s been heralded as the future of Le Mans Prototype racing.

But before we get into the action, beware. There are plenty of spoilers ahead, so if you’ve someone avoided the race and want to remain blissfully ignorant until you boot up your Tivo, don’t click through.

With Peugeot out of the running for this year’s endurance race, two teams were tasked with dominating the front of the pack, and Audi and Toyota didn’t disappoint.

Photo: David Vincent/AP

Audi was back on top in 2012, running two all-new Audi R18 e-tron quattros, powered by a combination of a 510 horsepower V6 diesel engine and a regenerative braking recovery system that stored spare electrons in a flywheel and boosted performance by sending juice through an electric motor powering the front wheels. The other two LMP1 Audis came in the form of the diesel-powered R18 Ultras, evolving the brand’s TDI technology into even more efficient – and blisteringly quick – closed-cockpit prototypes.

Photo: David Vincent/AP

Challenging the Audis were the No. 7 and 8 Toyota TS030 racers. Like the R18 etron quattros, the Toyotas made use of a hybrid drivetrain that stores braking energy for use in specified sections of the La Sarthe circuit. But unlike the Audis, gasoline powered both of Toyota’s entries.

Five hours into the race, Nicolas Lapierre in the No. 7 Toyota took the lead from Benoit Treluyer in the No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, but the celebration was short-lived.

Anthony Davidson, behind the wheel of the No. 8 Toyota, was blasting through the Mulsanne Corner when a GT Pro-class Ferrari 458 driven by amateur racer Piergiuseppe Perazzini turned into the Toyota prototype, sending Davidson into the air, with both racers hitting the tire barriers at speed. Both vehicles exploded as they hit the wall, with Davidson suffering from two fractured vertebrae — one of the worst injuries in recent Le Mans history.

During a pit stop under full-course caution, the remaining Toyota slipped into second place behind the No. 1 Audi, and when the green flag flew again, things got worse for Toyota, and devastating for the Nissan DeltaWing.

Photo: Florian Schuh/DPA/CorbisKazuki Nakajima, driving the No. 7 Toyota, collided with the No. 0 Nissan DeltaWing, a racing proof-of-concept that was out to prove that the LMP class is about to undergo a massive shakeup. Nakajima juked left to avoid the pack of prototypes in the infield, hitting the DeltaWing driven by Satoshi Motoyama in the process and putting the Batmobile-esque racer into the wall.

Motoyama fought valiantly to make repairs to the DeltaWing while it was stuck in the sand, as Le Mans rules state that if the vehicle can be fixed on the sidelines, it can continue to race. Engineers and mechanics passed tools through the fence and talked Motoyama through the repairs, and once the experimental racer was back in the pits, it succumbed to an alternator failure that eventually took the DeltaWing completely out of the race.

So with Nissan out (even though it was never competing for points and was perpetually 15 to 18 seconds behind the LMP1 cars), and both Toyotas done for the duration, the quartet of Audis took the lead.

When the checkered flag dropped, the No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro driven by Benoit Treluyer, Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler – the winners of last year’s Le Mans – took the win, marking the first time in the race’s history that a hybrid sat atop the podium. The No. 2 R18 e-tron quattro of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello followed closely behind in second, with the two R18 Ultra coming in third and fifth, while Nicolas Prost split the Audi group up with a fourth place finish.

For all involved and anyone watching from home, this year’s Le Mans upped the excitement and technology quotient by a massive factor, despite Audi’s continued dominance as it took a record-setting 11th win at La Sarthe. And next year’s running stands to be just as intriguing as more technology, more diesels and more competitors ready their racers for the 2013 campaign.

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